This disclosure relates to controlling access to electronic devices via application programming interface (API) restrictions, and more specifically to device-state-based message limiting and/or rule-based rate limiting of access to an electronic device to preserve a user experience with the electronic device.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
People interact with a number of different electronic devices on a daily basis. In a home setting, for example, a person may interact with smart thermostats, lighting systems, alarm systems, entertainment systems, and a variety of other electronic devices. To interact with some of these electronic devices, a person may communicate a command using an application program running on another electronic device. For instance, a person may control the temperature setting on a smart thermostat using an application program running on a smartphone. The application program may communicate with a secure online service that interacts with that thermostat.
To preserve the user experience associated with an electronic device, the manufacturer of the electronic device may also develop the application programs to control the electronic device. Opening access to the electronic devices to third-party developers, however, may potentially improve the experience of some people with the devices—but only if third-party application programs do not cause the electronic devices to behave in an undesirable manner. Moreover, even electronic devices of the same type may have characteristics (e.g., battery level and/or charging rate) that vary among different installations of the devices. For instance, some smart thermostats may recharge internal batteries using a main 120V or 240V building power supply, while others of the same type may recharge batteries using a much more limited supply of power. Thus, allowing third party developers unfettered access to these electronic devices introduces a risk that the operation of some of the electronic devices, and thus the user experience associated with those devices, may suffer.